Mental health care key to preventing mass shootings: Letters

I rarely agree with Charles Krauthammer, but he hit the mark with his opinion on the state of mental health care and the current laws relating to it.

The “why” component is missing from the dialogue regarding mass shootings by delusional and deranged individuals. It’s happening because many mentally-ill individuals don’t even know they are sick. Current laws don’t allow family and friends to force a person to get help when we see them sliding. Police and medical officials can only put someone on a 48-hour psych evaluation if they suspect someone is a danger to themselves or others. After 48 hours, if they show no signs of being a danger, by law they are required to let them go.

These are people who have lost the ability to make rational decisions. I know. I have a mentally ill mother who lives in her car, running from imagined phantoms. She trusts nobody and refuses treatment. When I consulted doctors and lawyers, they said our ability as family members to help her is nil without her cooperation.

Until society treats mental illness on par with cancer and other diseases, sick people will continue to act out their delusions with horrific consequences.

The editorial paints a rosy picture of what health care will be when Obamacare is implemented, but as with all government programs, the costs have been drastically underestimated. The original estimate by the Congressional Budget Office when the bill was passed was $898 billion.

Now that the law has been passed so that we can see what’s in it, the most recent estimate is nearly double the original cost and this debacle hasn’t even been implemented yet. And all Americans will still not be covered as is widely advertised. Many 20- and 30-somethings in good health won’t buy into this scam and I don’t blame them. I wouldn’t either.

The penalty for not signing up for Obamacare will be enforced by the IRS in the form of confiscating income tax return refunds so all the youngsters have to do is make sure they don’t overpay on their withholding during the year. And when all the young, healthy people figure out they can get by without paying for Obamacare, guess who will pick up the tab? It sure won’t be the groups who were given waivers.

After reading the latest U.S. Census Bureau’s statistics for some of our local cities, I’m astounded our president receives even mediocre support. Since he took office, the average household income of Lakewood residents dropped approximately $11,000 per year, almost $1,000 per month. The average monthly loss of Long Beach, Compton, Bellflower, Carson, Downey and Norwalk totals over $600 per month. Unemployment in the above cities almost doubled.

On the same day the Census Bureau’s woeful statistics were published nationwide, our president gave a chest-pounding speech about how well his economic programs have worked, yet, five years after his election, families are struggling terribly. It’s insulting to have him tell us what a great job he is doing with the economy. America is in dire financial straits and Obama need not look any further than his mirror for the reason why.